The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Dahlia plant, botanically known as Dahlia hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘VDTG31’.
The new Dahlia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Lisse, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to create new compact container-type Dahlia cultivars that have a freely branching growth habit, early and freely flowering habit, daisy inflorescence form, attractive ray floret coloration, and good postproduction longevity and garden performance.
The new Dahlia originated from an open-pollination in Lisse, The Netherlands during the summer of 2003 of a proprietary seedling selection of Dahlia hybrida identified as code R, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unidentified selection of Dahlia hybrida, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Dahlia was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated open-pollination in a controlled environment in Lisse, The Netherlands during the summer of 2004.
Asexual reproduction of the new Dahlia by cuttings since the spring of 2005 in a controlled environment in Lisse, The Netherlands, has shown that the unique features of this new Dahlia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.